“3000 wetlands already inventoried” in the Gers: what is the purpose of the waterbird census?

Like everywhere in the world at this time of year, the Gers was the subject last weekend of the “Wetlands count”, an international census of waterbirds coordinated by the NGO Wetlands International. As a reminder, this count is simultaneous in five geographic regions (Africa-Eurasia, Asia-Pacific, Caribbean, Central America and Neotropics) and takes place over one or two days around mid-January.

The objective of this operation is defined as follows by the League for the Protection of Birds: “to study the trends in populations of wintering waterbirds at the scale of migration routes and French wetlands and to identify sites with high stakes for avifauna.”

5000 ha to preserve

To achieve this, mid-January therefore appears to be the ideal period to count because it is the end of the post-nuptial migration and before the first nestings. This is where the majority of species present on their wintering sites indicate relative stability. The numbers counted are at their minimum, natural mortality having done its work. And the birds are therefore more likely to breed in subsequent years.

In the Gers, 3,000 wetlands have already been inventoried, which represents nearly 5,000 ha to be preserved. Across the country, they are home to around 25% of biodiversity but are among the ecological habitats that have declined the most.

During this departmental census, around sixty volunteers targeted the lakes of Saint-Jean in Peyrusse-Vieille, the lake of Astarac or that of Candau in Castillon-Debats, as well as the sensitive natural area of ​​the Etang du Moura . Precise location where a Marsh Harrier caused a certain activity by flying over the body of water to panic the pintail, mallard and spoonbill ducks, among others.

Clear fall of water birds

During this count, the president of the territorial delegation of Gers in the Occitanie region, Jean Bugnicourt, was able to bitterly note the clear drop in waterbirds: “Even in the 90s, it was normal to count 300 species on a single site”. He explains that with global warming, winterers no longer make the migratory journey to the south and remain in the north of France and Europe.

The ornithologist also specifies that fishing is a disturbing factor. Last year, 2.6 million waterbirds were counted on nearly 500 sites in France. A figure lower than in previous years, due in particular to the very low numbers of Lapwing. On the positive side, the teal (202,000) and the northern shoveler (64,000) are, however, clearly increasing.